Apparent cease-fire on Central Corridor

Article by: Scott Gillespie

January 15, 2009 - 4:34 PM

It looks like St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman played the role of Henry Kissinger earlier this week. After a meeting called by Coleman, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) said it would work with Metropolitan Council engineers on plans to mitigate noise that might interfere with MPR's operations at its downtown headquarters. Those engineers have said mitigation technology can be used so that the headquarters will actually experience less noise and vibration after the trains are up and running. During its feud with the Met Council, MPR has argued that is own engineers are skeptical that mitigation will work. As we suggested in a recent editorial, it was time for MPR to work in good faith with the Met Council to find solutions other than moving the line off of Cedar Street. Thanks to Coleman's leadership, it appears that the high-profile dispute will cool down long enough for both sides to finally work out a detailed mitigation plan.